The Atomic 4 is not a Jeep engine. It was always a marine engine and given the layout of the flywheel and transmission, could not possibly ever be used in a car, tractor, or any type of motor vehicle. Universal never used an outside source for the A4 and others in the series - they cast their own blocks specifically for marine use. As for explosions, a *C&C 35 MK I* did actually explode and burn and mine came close to doing the same. C&C used some scrap copper pipe and a hardware store 90 degree rubber fitting to get the fuel fill hose onto the tank with almost no clearance under the cockpit. These parts were never even rated for normal fuel, let alone ethanol crapgas. Mine started to come apart and when I dumped 5 gallons of gas in the tank, about 2 made it to the tank and 3 went in the bilge. Good thing I ran the blower and investigated when it smelled like gas. I got a local shop to fabricate an aluminum 90 degree piece for me and all is well now. Despite me telling them no one would be able to see it, they made me a piece of welding art with the seams polished and friction bands scribed into the pipe and charged me $160 for it! So........if I ever take the fuel system apart again I can admire it :)
Anyway - points, condensers, plugs, wires, belts, and hoses are all "free" to use whatever, but the starter, distributor cap, alternator, and carb all have specific features for marine use. For one example, the 99% identical tractor version of the carb has a drain hole so that any gas overflow leaks right out of the carb into the bilge. The marine version has a scavenger tube. If anyone with a diesel tells me about safety, I will 99% of the time be able to point to their propane stove and about 50% of the time point to a can of gas for the dinghy shoved into some random totally unsafe spot LOL Joe Della Barba Coquina C&C 35 MK I From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of dwight veinot Sent: Friday, May 17, 2013 7:26 AM To: billb...@sbcglobal.net; cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Marine vs Automotive parts Bill I agree with you about the hazards of gasoline, that was one reason I did not like having a sailboat with a gas engine but I can't remember hearing of any explosions involving an Atomic 4 engine in a sailboat and there were a lot of those engines used in sailboats that were of the vintage of my 1974 C&C. I always used the bilge blower and took care to smell for gas in the engine space before starting. I believe for the Atomic 4 engine which I think started out as a jeep engine that AC Delco parts were actually the recommended replacement ignition parts. I think some people have converted these older Atomic 4 sailboat engines to electronic ignition systems and I think that is probably a worthwhile change for reliability and smooth operation. These engines have driven sailboats quite successfully for many years and many are still in service and working well, even those that have been raw water cooled with salt water, like many I know of around here, the one that is in the 27 which I owned included. Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, Alianna Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS ________________________________ From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Bill Bina Sent: May 17, 2013 6:55 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Marine vs Automotive parts Belts don't matter, but for gasoline engines on a boat, the difference in marine parts vs automotive parts can be the difference between life and death. It's not a reliability issue or how well the part performs. It's an EXPLOSION issue. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air. A car engine compartment is open on the bottom, and has TONS of air flow. The engine situation in a boat is completely different. It is closed on the bottom, and air flow is fairly minimal. That's why they make special ignition parts, alternators, starters, carbs, etc for use in boats. You know those scenes in movies where a boat explodes in a fireball and burns to the waterline in minutes? That is a realistic depiction. They really do that. I've seen it happen twice. Bill Bina On 5/17/2013 5:01 AM, dwight veinot wrote: OK I am happy with that and the AC Delco parts worked very well in my ATOMIC 4 engine but I don't think there was anything about them that suggested marine grade or anything like that and as I recall they were not overly expensive. I mostly got alternator belts from NAPA and they worked fine too. In fact I still get belts from NAPA for my Universal M4-30 diesel and gold level oil filters too but I have also used Wix oil filters. Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, Alianna Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS ________________________________ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> Version: 2012.0.2242 / Virus Database: 3162/5828 - Release Date: 05/16/13
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